


solace from the storm

by phendrifts



Series: tales from the farlands [2]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Implied/Referenced Character Death, Shulk has anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25212046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phendrifts/pseuds/phendrifts
Summary: on a cartographer trip, shulk and reyn find themselves trapped in a cave. shulk takes first watch.
Series: tales from the farlands [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825357
Kudos: 21





	solace from the storm

The wind howled against the rocky surface of the cave as Shulk crouched over his now-soggy research, pages upon pages of geography notes and maps. Behind him, Reyn unloaded his backpack, taking out some spare firewood. He set his stuff down next to the Shulk’s Replica Monado and his own Vangarre Driver.

“It’s all ruined! And after I spent all day making them, too.” Shulk complained, trying to find any pages that were salvageable. 

“Don’t sweat it, Shulk. Knowing you, you’ll have them rewritten by tomorrow morning.” Reyn placed a hand on Shulk’s shoulder. “What we should worry about now is getting back to the others. The rain doesn’t look like it’ll let up, so we might be stuck here until night.”

Shulk turned his head towards the mouth of the cave. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Everyone might be looking for us right now. We should get a fire going, so they could see this cave.”

“Way ahead of you, Shulk.”

* * *

“It’s so c-cold! I swear, Tephra Cave never got this c-chilly.”

Shulk held a piece of paper in his hands, trying to air it out against the fire. “I guess our new world has some strange weather. It never rained this hard when we were in Colony 9.”

“Yeah, and it was f-fine the way it was! Hey, Shulk, maybe you could, you know-” Reyn drew a little swirl with his finger and pointed upwards. 

“Reyn, you know I can’t change the weather.”

“Yeah, yeah, but it’s w-worth a shot, right?” 

“I don’t have any powers in this world. Same as you don’t. So stop complaining! It’s not worse than Valak Mountain, is it?”

“Speak for yourself! Why aren’t you c-cold, huh?”

“I guess... my body is just more used to it than you are.”

“Well, fancy that. In that case,  _ you _ take the first watch. I gotta grab some shuteye.”

“Off you go, Reyn.”

It wasn’t long before Reyn’s familiar snores filled the air. After a while, Shulk picked up some more papers to hold against the fire.

_ This world… it’s so much more different from our own.  _ Shulk raised his head towards the entrance of the cave, where rain continued to pour down in torrents.

_ The weather seems to change so drastically day by day. Recently, it’s been getting much colder. Is it some sort of sign that something bad is coming?  _ As if to accent these thoughts, roaring thunder was heard crackling in the distance, and Shulk’s mind began to race once more.

_ The Monado Replica EX won’t be ready for at least a few weeks. I’m not sure I’ll be ready for any incoming danger. It just means I have to work harder once I get back to the colony. I’ll ask Dunban for help. Maybe we can prepare a task force before disaster even strikes at all. _

Shulk realized his hands were getting a little too warm, so he pulled back the papers from the fire. Thunder once again pierced the deafening silence of the cave. Shulk sat in silence, watching a drop of water slither down slowly from the ceiling.

_ Alvis said to us that all life will walk towards the future together.  _ Shulk set the papers down and curled up, pulling his knees to his chest.

_ Would Alvis warn us if something were coming? If disaster truly was imminent, would he send us a sign? Is it in his place to do so? _

As usual, Alvis was an enigma. He had disappeared after the Bionis crumbled, leaving many of Shulk’s questions unanswered. Shulk knew Alvis was some kind of higher being, but...

_ He felt Homs, too. He cares about this world, just like Meyneth did. I know that he would protect us if something bad happened. _

Feeling a little more safe, Shulk’s mind began to wander elsewhere. There was much to think about, after all. New Colony 9, though in its early stages, faced a variety of problems. For one, the combined populations of High Entia, Machina, and Nopon meant that the Colony had more residents than they had the space to deal with.

_ Which is why we need these research notes.  _ Shulk once again looked at the damp pile next to him.  _ I can’t be so careless with them. _

Since reconstruction started, Shulk had buried himself in research notes and papers. Fiora and Reyn swung by the lab to keep him company, but he was largely by himself. In truth, he was working himself to the bone because he felt… guilty.

Though the destruction of the Bionis had passed a few months ago, the repercussions of it hadn’t faded. In the final struggle between the Telethia, there were estimated hundreds of lives lost. When the Bionis began to crumble, the casualties only increased. Shulk’s final wish allowed Alvis to bring many people to safety, but the damage had been more than enough. The party had reached their happy ending, countless others did not. Shulk would never forget, no, he  _ wouldn’t let himself _ forget. The names of everyone he couldn’t save. He passed the colony graveyard every day. He had made it a point to visit every family of the departed. It wasn’t enough, and he knew that. It would never be enough. He buried himself deeper in his research. 

Shulk’s anxieties clutched his heart, and he curled his arms tighter around his knees. The droplet he had been staring at splashed into a puddle on the floor next to him. He peered into it and saw cold, dead blue eyes staring back at him.

A splitting headache gripped Shulk’s skull. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to take deep breaths to no avail. He wouldn’t stop shaking.

_ Corpse. _

The word turned over in his mind. Shulk hated hearing it. 

Shulk was cold.

Shulk gently shook Reyn’s arm.

“You’re up, Reyn. Did you sleep alright?”

“Couldn’t.” Reyn yawned. “I can’t sleep in the cold.”

“Me neither. Mind if I stay up with you?”


End file.
